How easy (or hard) is it to access the drain plug and bottom of the boat from the rear storage trunks? I am asking because I may want to install a home made ballast system into a SAN with standard size hard tanks. In my current design for an d-drive Air, I bring in water through the drain plug underneath the engine and also T into the existing ballast fill hole. I am wondering if there is something similar on the V drives and more importantly, is it easilly accessible.

I'm working on the same thing. I'm on my second attempt. 1st attempt was to take the overflow tube and put it through a "y" connecter and try and fill a fat sac on the top of the tank. But, after the tanks was full the pressure from trying to overfill the tank and then fill the fat sac caused the water to be pushed out the empty pump. Water will get pushed through the pump without a problem. My 2nd attempt which I just completed today and will try out on Friday is to put the "y" on the filling tube and then be able to select either the tank or the fat sac. I figure if I can fill the tank and then divert the water through the "y", which is just a garden Y connector with the on/off valves, that I can fill the fac over the top. I then put another "y" on the overflow line so that when the sac fills it'll just purge water out the overflow hole. I have a pump on the opposite fill hole of the fat sac so, that when I need to empty I can run the pump. On a side note: I found that CC is trying to "fool" people with the tubing. The fill tube is 1" but, if you look at the pumps they are fed by 3/4" from the pick up. Now, you can't pump anymore than your smallest tube so, I changed all the tubing to 3/4" because I had all the fittings and the tubing on hand. Luckily the fittings on the tank can be screwed off and they all Pipe fittings.

Sounds like you are doing what I may try to do if I buy a SAN. Have you tried getting to the bottom of the boat and making a seperate intake hole? Drilling from the outside in is obviously accessible, but my concern is pumping... like, can I reach the intake to get a tube and clamp inplace. Teeing into the existing ballast line is definatley easiest, but not the fastest.

I really don't like the idea of drilling another hole. I'd rather wait another 2 minutes with what I've got than drill another hole. Besides you usually have to get to your riding spot and you can fill on the way.

Just wondering how this turned out. I want to do the exact same thing (put some sacks on top of the flat tanks in my SAN)... and am in favor of just integrating into the stock system rather than drilling more holes for a little more fill speed.

Any info (or pics) from anyone who's got this working would be much appreciated.

I don't have pics but, what I did seems to work pretty well. Occasionally, I forget to turn off the fat sac on top and wonder why the tank isn't filling up. With the "Y" on both open it fills really slow so, I do the manual fill the tank and then the fat sac. I only fill the fat sac right now for wakesurfing but, will do the same to the other side as a winter project.